Monday, October 13, 2014

Haunted Places in Denver, Colorado

Denver was founded in 1859 and has been home to the souls of miners, cowboys, businessmen, and other characters that over 100 years later still roam the old hotels, brothels, mines and buildings.Here a few of the documented places in Denver these ghosts call home.Denver 1896
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Croke-Patterson Mansion
420 E. 11th Ave.
Denver, CO 80203

One of the most haunted houses in Denver, the Croke-Patterson
Mansion has eery beginnings. Originally built by Thomas
Croke in 1890, it is said he entered the building only once. He was so
terrified by “something” in the house that he never returned. Years
later, the mansion was sold to Thomas Patterson, publisher of the Rocky
Mountain News. The building itself has gone through many changes over
the years, but perhaps the most disturbing story came from the 1970s
when a pair of Doberman Pinschers were left alone for the night to guard
the home. The next day, both dogs were found dead on the sidewalk,
having jumped from the third-floor window. So just who is haunting this
beautiful mansion? It is said that the body of a little girl is buried
in the cellar. An excavation of the cellar was conducted and while a
hidden chamber was found, no body was recovered. Yet, there are many
reports of a child figure sliding up and down the stairway and countless
reports of voices and footsteps. It is also said that Thomas Patterson
himself has been seen in the courtyard.
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Cheeseman Park
1599 E. 8th Ave.
Denver, CO 80213

In 1858, Prospect Hill Cemetery opened, taking in new bodies from
around the Denver area for nearly 30 years. There was a brief argument
over just who owned the valuable land and the City of Denver won. As
more cemeteries opened around town, less and less of Prospect Hill
Cemetery (then Denver City Cemetery) was being used. By 1890, it was
officially decided that the former cemetery would become the area of
Congress and Cheesman Parks. The families of those that were buried were
allowed 90 days to relocate the bodies of their loved ones and many
bodies were moved. Unfortunately, many of the people buried in the
cemetery were criminals and vagrants and more than 5,000 bodies remained
unclaimed. When work was ordered to move the remaining bodies, it was
done hastily and in some cases, quite gruesomely, with many body parts
having been left behind. This awful attempt at moving the bodies was
covered by The Denver Republican newspaper in 1893, “Around their edges
were piled broken coffins, rent and tattered shrouds and fragments of
clothing that had been torn from dead bodies.” Over the years, as more
of the park was constructed, more bodies were moved. Though, it is
estimated today that more than 2,000 bodies remain in the park. Some
visitors claim to see ghosts wandering the park at night and others
claim they can see the outlines of the grave markers. Some even claim
that they have great difficulty getting up after lying on the grass in
the park, as though an unseen force is keeping them down.
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The Buckhorn Exchange
1000 Osage St.
Denver, CO 80204

The Buckhorn Exchange is Denver’s oldest restaurant, dating back more
than 100 years to 1893. It was originally opened as a trading post and
actually holds liquor license Number One in the State of Colorado. The
restaurant catered to all of the miners, railroad builders and other men
that came west and it became one of the most well-known and loved stops
in the area. In fact, President Theodore Roosevelt ate there in 1905
and was said to have gone hunting the following day. Today, it is said
that the ghosts of the many traders, miners and cowboys that died nearby
make the Buckhorn Exchange their haunted home. There are countless
reports of voices and footsteps, and many have seen tables moving on
their own.

Take a short drive out of Denver and you can visit one of the most
notoriously haunted hotels in the country. The Stanley Hotel was so
frightening and so haunted it inspired Stephen King to write his famous
novel, “The Shining.” The Stanley Hotel was opened in 1909 by Freelan
Oscar Stanley, known of course for the Stanley Steamer. Stanley was
ordered by his doctor to go west because he had tuberculosis and the
mountain air was said to be good for his health. He was so impressed
with the beauty of Estes Park that he built the hotel. One of the best
around, the Stanley Hotel was known for catering to only the very
wealthy and famous. Today, it is believed that Freelan Stanley and his
wife both haunt the famous hotel. Stanley’s wife was a piano player and
there are many reports of the piano in the ballroom playing by itself.
Guests have reported seeing apparitions in their rooms, only to
disappear moments later. There are also several reports of guests’
jewelry, watches and luggage mysteriously disappearing. In fact, “The
Shining” is so famous for its ghosts that it even holds ghost tours that
take you through the history of the hotel, Stephen King’s inspiration
in room 217 and many of the haunted rooms, places and the underground
tunnel.
_________________________________________________________________________________Lumber Baron Inn
2555 W. 37th Ave.
Denver, CO 80211

In 1890, lumber baron John Mouat built the now infamous mansion. Mouat built more
than 200 buildings that helped form the city of Denver but his personal
mansion was the highlight of his craft. Over the years, the mansion
passed through many hands, eventually lying empty in the early 1970s.
Reportedly, a 17-year-old runaway girl living in the abandoned mansion
was brutally murdered. Just a short while after, an 18-year-old friend
was looking for the girl and she was also murdered. Both slayings
remain unsolved, which may explain some of the paranormal activity in the
well-known house. The Lumber Baron Inn has been restored to its
original beauty and serves as a delightful bed and breakfast. However,
footsteps are often heard and several paranormal groups have received
unexplainable EMP in the house.
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Here is a pic taken in 2015 in The Springs at my apartment near Academy & Austin Bluffs. I saw the shadow out
of the corner of my eye, phone in hand I turned on camera and snapped a
shot. In addition to "her", there are 2 small orbs zipping down near
it's right arm.